Women’s Volleyball Unable to Complete Comeback

WORCESTER, Mass. – For the second straight year, Regis College and WPI battled in a five-set thriller, but once again the Engineers prevailed over the Pride, 3-2 (22-25, 25-20, 25-23, 16-25, 15-13), Tuesday night in a non-conference women's collegiate volleyball match at Harrington Auditorium.

Ahnasia Mckinney (Chelmsford, Mass.) notched her third triple-double of the season and eighth of her career, earning a team-high 15 kills along with 22 assists and 11 digs. Avery Mola (Cheshire, Conn.) finished with a double-double of 11 kills and a team-high 17 digs, plus she earned a career-high seven service aces.

Grace Fabiano (Greenland, N.H.) also collected 11 kills to go along with four total blocks, while Ayla Albers (San Diego, Calif.) earned eight kills, four service aces, and 11 digs. Alexandra Rivera (Bristol, Conn.) accumulated a season-high 24 assists, and Kate Montigny (Shrewsbury, Mass.) added five total blocks and seven digs.

Down two sets to one, Regis quickly gained control of the fourth set thanks to a 10-1 scoring run, led by Mola with two kills and four service aces. The Pride never allowed the Engineers back in the set, eventually clinching it on a kill by Bella Karpicz (Berkley, Mass.).

The Pride scored the first three points of the fifth set and led 6-2 after a block by Montigny and Fabiano, but WPI rattled off four straight points, featuring back-to-back blocks by the duo of Zeala VanDamme and Lily Eldridge. Regis retook the lead on consecutive kills from Fabiano, but the home team scored six unanswered points to pull ahead and eventually closed out the match on a kill by Emily Hudson.

The opening set featured eight ties and four lead changes, with the last tie coming at 22-22 after Audrey Stroupe earned a kill for WPI. Regis responded with the final three points of the first set thanks to two WPI errors and a kill by Albers.

WPI (4-4) would take the next two sets, grabbing early control of the second set with a 7-1 scoring run and remaining ahead the rest of the way. The third set also included eight ties and four lead changes as the Pride pulled ahead 22-20 on consecutive service aces by Albers before the Engineers won four of the final five points of the set, including a solo block by Eldridge.

Eldridge also notched a triple-double with 12 kills, 15 assists, and 13 digs along with five total blocks, while Preslie Jerebker finished with 22 assists and 12 digs for a double-double. WPI's ability to keep rallies alive helped on its path to victories as the Engineers ended up with 92 defensive digs, led by Victoria Escuer with 28 digs and Alana Harris with 15 digs.

Regis College (8-4) plays a home match for the first time in almost three weeks, welcoming Elms College and New England College to Higgins Court for a GNAC tri-match Saturday, Sept. 21, with the Pride facing the Blazers at 11 a.m. and the Pilgrims at 3 p.m.